WildFlower's 2011 Alpha Male Journal

[Shannon]

Freelancing is one area that has been visiting my mind as of late. I do like photography but I have no idea how much freelance photographers make. If I could get a job shooting photos for a company and then branch out on my own, it would be great. It would putting one of my talents to work instead of having it sit dormant.
I'm sure in your case, the urge to branch out and freelance will continue to build slowly over time until it hits critical mass.
It sounds like the UK is in a jam like the US is... Trillion Dollar deficit and rising taxes... gotta love it

Freelance photographers get what they are worth. That depends heavily on what you are shooting, where you live, how good you are, how good your equipment is, how you present yourself, your people skills and how you advertise. Let's not forget your reputation.

Wedding photographers work for themselves in most cases, although to do it legally requires a business licence, etc. Working for yourself can be said to be freelance work. I know freelancers who charge $20 an hour and I know freelancers who get over $250 an hour. Depends on a lot of factors.

Depends on the particular subject, country, financial climate, etc. also.

Working for a company as a photographer usually won't make you bubkus. Especially and portrait mills. They set it up for consistency, and any monkey can then press a button and get a sellable shot. Consequently, any monkey is what they hire, and what they pay for. You're not in it for the money. At least I hope you're not.

At the same time, the stock photography world is currently undergoing a shift that makes it harder and harder for anyone but the stock agencies to make money anymore.

The only people making money in photography are the ones who have great marketing skills and an aggressive, go-get-it personality. It's still possible, but the preponderance of super-automated point-and-shoot cameras is steadily turning photography into a "why the hell should I pay some one for that?" in the minds of a lot of people, because they no longer see the skills required or understand the difference between what a skilled photographer can do, and what a point and shoot camera can do. And I hate to say it, but the future of paid photography is going to be even dimmer as consumer digital cameras become capable of automating a doing a "good enough" job at things that currently require photoshop and skill.

Better get out there and start selling yourself, my friend.

@WildFlower

Be careful. You need to understand that it's a risk to step out on your own, especially in a climate like we have today. Things are becoming progressively less stable. Sooner or later, things are going to "self correct" and we will have a very different situation than we do now. Whether that is good or bad is unknown.